Kwasi Poku
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | February 6, 2003 | ||
Place of birth | Brampton, Ontario, Canada | ||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
Position(s) | Left back, Striker | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Forge FC | ||
Number | 20 | ||
Youth career | |||
Brampton East SC | |||
Woodbridge Strikers | |||
Unionville Milliken SC | |||
Toronto FC | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2021 | Toronto FC III | 4 | (0) |
2021 | Toronto FC II | 1 | (0) |
2022– | Forge FC | 55 | (11) |
2023 | → Sigma FC (loan) | 1 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2022 | Canada U20 | 5 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 27, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 26, 2022 |
Kwasi Poku (born February 6, 2003) is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Forge FC in the Canadian Premier League.
Early life
[edit]Poku began playing youth soccer at age six with Brampton East SC.[1] He later played youth soccer with the Woodbridge Strikers, with whom he won the 2017 U14 Ontario Indoor Cup, scoring a hat-trick against Ottawa St. Anthony.[2] He was also part of the provincial Team Ontario that year.[3] He later played for Unionville Milliken SC.[4] He later joined the Toronto FC Academy.[5]
Club career
[edit]In 2021, he played with Toronto FC III in the League1 Ontario Summer Championship division making his debut on July 31 against Alliance United.[6] After the season, he joined the second team Toronto FC II in USL League One. He made his debut on October 1, 2021 against North Carolina FC.[7] In February 2022, he departed the Toronto FC organization.[8]
In February 2022, he signed a professional contract with Canadian Premier League side Forge FC.[9] He made his debut for his new club on February 16 in a 2022 CONCACAF Champions League match against Cruz Azul.[10][11] Poku scored his first goal on October 9, 2022 in a 1-0 victory over HFX Wanderers FC.[12] In January 2023, Poku went on trial with Swedish Allsvenskan club BK Häcken.[13] In 2023, he played one game on loan with Forge's affiliate Sigma FC in League1 Ontario.[14] In later September 2023, he was named the CPL player of the week.[15] At the end of the 2023 season, he was nominated for the CPL U21 Player of the Year award.[16][17] In October of the same year, he helped Forge win their fourth league title, following a 2–1 win over Cavalry FC in the play-off final.[18] During the 2024 season, he was moved from his typical left-back position to centre forward, after several injuries to the team's forwards.[19][20][21] On June 23, 2024, he scored a brace in a 2-1 victory over Valour FC.[22][23] He was named the league's Player of the Month for June 2024.[24] On July 10, he scored a backheel goal against Major League Soccer club Toronto FC in a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the 2024 Canadian Championship semi-finals.[25] On July 14, he scored another brace in a 2-1 victory over Pacific FC,[26] earning league Player of the Week honours.[27] In August 2024, he began to be held out of matches for precautionary reasons, amid transfer interest from foreign clubs.[28][29][30]
International career
[edit]Born in Canada, Poku is of Ghanaian descent.[31] In April 2022, he was called up to the Canadian Under-20 team for two matches against Costa Rica.[32] In June 2022, he was named to the Canadian U-20 team for the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[33] He appeared in all four of the team's matches, playing a total of 385 minutes, prior to their elimination in the round of 16.[34]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of July 27, 2024[35]
Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Toronto FC III | 2021[6] | League1 Ontario Summer Championship | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
Toronto FC II | 2021 | USL League One | 1 | 0 | — | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
Forge FC | 2022 | Canadian Premier League | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
2023 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |||
2024 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 10 | ||
Total | 55 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 69 | 13 | ||
Sigma FC (loan) | 2023[14] | League1 Ontario | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
Career total | 61 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 75 | 13 |
- ^ Includes appearance in the 2020 Canadian Championship final (played in 2022)
References
[edit]- ^ Kwasi Poku at the Canadian Soccer Association
- ^ "Kwasi Poku Leads Woodbridge Strikers to U-14 Boys Ontario Indoor Cup Title". Ontario Soccer Association. January 26, 2017.
- ^ "Team Ontario U14 Boys" (PDF). Ontario Soccer Association.
- ^ Motta Silva, Nicolas (November 16, 2018). "BMO Champions CUP: Day One and Two Recap". Toronto FC.
- ^ "Forge FC signs ex-HFX midfielder Sissoko, local product Poku". Canadian Premier League. February 2, 2022.
- ^ a b "Kwasi Poku 2021 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
- ^ Martin, Hannah (October 1, 2021). "Match Recap: North Carolina FC Fall to Toronto FC II on the Road". North Carolina FC.
- ^ Molinaro, John (October 26, 2023). "Ex-TFC academy product Kwasi Poku set for CPL Final with Forge". TFC Republic.
- ^ "Forge FC Sign Midfielders Sissoko & Poku". Forge FC. February 2, 2022.
- ^ "Brampton's Kwasi Poku impresses despite Forge loss". Brampton Soccer. February 17, 2022.
- ^ Urciuoli, Anthony (August 11, 2022). "'Ready for a little bit of everything:' Kwasi Poku makes big strides in first pro season". Forge FC.
- ^ Myrer, George (October 9, 2022). "HFX Wanderers' disappointing season comes to a close with loss to Forge". SaltWire Network.
- ^ Jacques, John (January 17, 2023). "Forge's Poku On Trial With BK Hacken". Northern Tribune.
- ^ a b "Kwasi Poku 2023 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku Named CPL Player of the Week for Week 24". Forge FC. September 26, 2023.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku Nominated for Best Canadian Under-21 Player". Forge FC. October 17, 2023.
- ^ "Cameron, De Brienne, Poku nominated for Best Canadian U-21 Player Award". Canadian Premier League. October 17, 2023.
- ^ Tierney, Mitchell (October 28, 2023). "HIGHLIGHTS + ANALYSIS: Forge wins 2023 North Star Cup, defeating Cavalry to lift fourth playoff crown (Oct. 28, 2023)". OneSoccer. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
- ^ "What makes Kwasi Poku so effective as a striker? - CPL Newsroom pres. by Volkswagen". Canadian Premier League. June 5, 2024.
- ^ Tierney, Mitchell (July 3, 2024). "'It plays to my strengths': Why Kwasi Poku is thriving as a striker with Forge FC". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku's Explosive Form in the Canadian Premier League: A Rising Star". Forge FC. July 30, 2024.
- ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 23, 2024). "Match Analysis: Early Poku brace lifts Forge over Valour despite back-and-forth second half". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ Parkes, David (June 24, 2024). "Forge 2-1 Valour: Poku Gives Valour Hammer Blow". Northern Tribune.
- ^ "Forge FC's Kwasi Poku named CPL Player of the Month for June". Canadian Premier League. July 3, 2024.
- ^ Parisis, Quentin (July 16, 2024). "14e journée de CPL : L'Atlético Ottawa en forme; Kwasi Poku en feu" [CPL Matchday 14: Atlético Ottawa in form; Kwasi Poku on fire]. Canadian Premier League (in French).
- ^ Tierney, Mitchell (July 14, 2024). "Match Analysis: Poku brace powers persistent Forge past Pacific FC at Tim Hortons Field". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku Named CPL Player of the Week for Week 14". Forge FC. July 17, 2024.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku held out of Forge lineup amid 'interest in the transfer market'". Canadian Premier League. August 15, 2024.
- ^ Jacques, John (August 15, 2024). "Poku Absent Amid 'Quite A Bit Of Interest' In Transfer Market". Northern Tribune.
- ^ Healey, Josh (August 15, 2024). "Forge FC mulling over multiple offers — with interest from North America and Europe — for Kwasi Poku". Wanderers Notebook.
- ^ "Canadian-born Ghanaian youngster Kwasi Poku on trials at BK Häcken". Kick GH. January 17, 2023.
- ^ "Bontis & Poku called up to the men's U20 national team camp in Costa Rica". Forge FC. April 5, 2022.
- ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 10, 2022). "6 CPLers named to Canada squad for Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre (September 9, 2023). "'I'm excited to see what's next': After brief taste of Europe, Forge's Kwasi Poku eager to be latest CPL export". OneSoccer.
- ^ Kwasi Poku at Soccerway
External links
[edit]- Kwasi Poku at the Canadian Soccer Association
- Kwasi Poku at Soccerway